How much does a website cost for a small business?

A small business website usually costs $500 to $8,000 to build, then $600 to $5,000 a year to run. Doing it yourself is cheapest up front. A freelancer or agency costs more, and what you're really paying for is pages that get found on Google and in AI answers, and someone keeping them current.

Those ranges are for a 5 to 10 page site, from One Little Web's 2025 pricing study. Where you land depends on how many pages you need, whether someone writes the words and takes the photos, whether people can book or pay online, and who looks after it once it's live. Here's what each way of getting a site usually costs (prices checked November 2026).

Who builds it	Typical cost	Good for
You, on Squarespace or Wix	$100 to $1,600 in all, with plans from $19 a month	A simple site you have time to write and update
A freelancer	$15 to $30 an hour on Upwork (the median)	A small site, if you'll handle updates
A local agency	$500 to $8,000 for a 5 to 10 page site	More pages, written and built for you
A build and upkeep service	A setup fee, then a monthly price	Owners who want it found and kept current

The plan price is from Squarespace's pricing page (Basic, on a yearly plan) and the hourly rate from Upwork. A seasoned pro charges more: the median pay for US web developers and digital designers was $47.85 an hour in May 2025, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so a custom site with a page for every service and town runs into the thousands. Budget for the years after launch too: the plan or hosting, your domain, security updates and changes. A site nobody touches slowly slips in search while the businesses around you keep adding pages, photos and reviews.

For example, say an average job is worth $400 to you. If a better site brings in two extra jobs a month, that's $9,600 a year (Modeled, plug in your own numbers). A site that costs more but gets found can be the cheaper one.

We build the site, write it so Google and AI can find and quote it, and keep it current, for one monthly price we go over in a short demo. Your domain is yours from day one, and the website is yours after your first year. Still comparing? See who can build your website, Wix or Squarespace vs a custom site and what SEO costs.

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